IS IT TRUE May 24, 2013

IS IT TRUE the unintended but poorly thought through consequences of “passing the bill to find out what is in it” came home to roost right here in Evansville yesterday?…longtime local hospital St. Mary’s Health announced that it will be restructuring its business model due to a shortfall in revenue forecasted due to the implementation of the so called Affordable Care Act aka ObamaCare?…the immediate impact of this restructuring will be layoffs sufficient to make up for the projected 40% reduction in income of $15 Million?…these layoffs will be happening on July 1 that coincides with the fiscal year of St. Mary’s Health?…while St. Mary’s did not state exactly how many people would be losing their jobs as a result of this ObamaCare restructuring but one can make some guesses based on the income that they are hoping to replace?…if the cost per employee happens to be $100,000 then 150 people will become unemployed on July 1st?…if the pay package is higher that will mean less layoffs but if the pay package is lower that will mean more layoffs?…one of the voluntary casualties of ObamaCare is St. Mary’s President Tim Flesch who announced his retirement date at the end of the year which coincidentally is the exact time that ObamaCare is scheduled to go into full effect?…another hospital in Indiana announced similar plans for the same reasons yesterday?…these are not the first and will not be the last healthcare related layoffs and cut backs associated with the final phase in of ObamaCare?

IS IT TRUE the sentiment to this announcement by St. Mary’s has been for the most part to express sympathy for those who will be laid off and to wish them well in replacing the good jobs that St. Mary’s has been providing in Evansville for many years?…there is also much sentiment that it is high time that the prices charged by medical providers in general were brought down to a place that reflects reality?…comments such as “any company that can’t make money by charging $3 for a Tylenol tablet that costs them a penny and charging over $1,000 per day for a shared room can afford to trim some of the fat without sacrificing the quality of care”?…having some experience with hospital charges the CCO agrees that prices that are charged in hospitals for everyday over the counter products are excessive to the point of disbelief?…most people can understand that a procedure that requires the use of a piece of equipment that costs many millions of dollars operated by a surgeon that earns $500,000 per year is going to be expensive?…it is in the delivery of routine medical procedures and the treatment of things like colds that there should be massive savings if the architects of ObamaCare and healthcare providers can figure out how to simply copy what is done in other wealthy countries that have socialized medicine?

IS IT TRUE that none of us really have any need to be surrounded by the trappings of luxury that would make the Ritz-Carleton envious to get a shot or be prescribed an antibiotic?…none of us really need to be attended by 6 different doctors for an everyday scrape or cut?…most emergency room visits could be avoided by a population that takes care of themselves every day by eating right and practicing simple hygiene like we were taught in high school health class?…it is understandable that the theory of ObamaCare that asserts we can all be covered and still pay less SHOULD BE ACHIEVABLE?…if the architects of ObamaCare had thought things through, negotiated longer and in good faith with providers instead of shaking the provider lobbyists down for campaign donations we may just be on the verge of having a health system that could work for every American citizen?…because the architects of ObamaCare failed to think in their zeal to pass something we are now confronted with higher costs, diminished services, and 30 million people that will not be covered by ObamaCare?…the implementation and details of ObamaCare should have been left to professional managers and operations specialists as opposed to dreamers and hopesters?…it is not too late to defer the concept of universal health coverage until the details of how to cover everyone while cutting out enough fluff and fat to keep health payments at the very least neutral have been established?…if the worst case scenarios expected now by the architect of ObamaCare (who calls it a train wreck) become reality, you can expect a complete nullification movement in the next election cycle that will prevail?…the American people change quickly when they feel the pain?…the do little when being warned?…the unintended consequences of this bill are just beginning to come home to roost?